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| Tyson Chandler probably never expected he'd end the Playoffs in early May. (image by the AP) |
I’m sure this is not how Tyson Chandler envisioned his 2011-2012 Playoff experience to be like.
Not after winning the NBA Championship last year.
Not after knowing he’d be teammates with Amar’e Stoudemire and Carmelo Anthony.
Not after being named Defensive Player of the Year.
And getting kicked out by the team he helped beat last June?
Ouch.
Well, at least the team he helped win the Larry O’Brien trophy got KO’d before his new team did.
But still, that’s little consolation, if any.
And still, despite getting ousted in 5 games, this condensed season should be one of the most memorable for the Knicks – and that’s a good thing.
Mostly.
Consider:
- Tyson Chandler signed up. (good)
- Iman Shumpert turned out to be pretty good. (good)
- Melo and Stat got injured. (bad)
- Jeremy Lin happened. (good)
- JR Smith signed up. (good, I guess)
- Melo returned. (bad – he didn’t click with Lin)
- Lin got injured. (good, I guess – he didn’t click with Melo)
- D’Antoni, uhm, resigned. (I still think this is bad)
- Mike Woodson gave Melo all the possessions he wanted. (turned out to be good)
- The Knicks finished the season on an 18-6 run, which catapulted them to 7th spot. (miraculously good)
- Lost to Miami in 5. (bad, but did anyone really expect otherwise)
As good as this past year has been, however, the future might actually not be as bright.
Melo, Stat, and Chandler take up most of New York’s salary space, which really doesn’t leave a lot left to build a serious contender. With Toney Douglas, Iman Shumpert and only a couple of other not-so-key pieces guaranteed to return, the Knicks will have to do a lot of reimagining to reenter the East’s Top 4 conversation the way they did before December 2011.
Jeremy Lin isn’t guaranteed. Same with JR Smith. Baron Davis is done. Ditto with Mike Bibby. Steve Novak will have a wealth of suitors. Mike Woodson isn’t even the head coach, yet. Technically, he’s still in interim status.
Don’t be surprised if New York will look very different next season.
In reality, the only thing constant will be this(especially if Woodson is named head coach, which is a probability): Melo will still take a truckload of the shots.
Whether that’s a good thing or nor, well, I’ll just leave it up to you.
Game Recaps:
MIA over NYK, 106-94
LeBron James had a solid all-around effort with 29 points, eight rebounds and seven assists, and the Miami Heat dominated the shorthanded New York Knicks, 106-94, to win their Eastern Conference quarterfinal series in five games. The Heat, seeded second, will play Indiana in the conference semifinals. The third-seeded Pacers finished off Orlando in five games Tuesday night. Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh each tallied 19 points, while Mario Chalmers scored 10 for the Heat. But it was James who forced the action all night, going 13-of-15 from the foul line. Overall, Miami missed just five of its 34 foul shots. Carmelo Anthony had 35 points on 15-of-31 shooting for New York. J.R. Smith went just 3-of-15 from the field and had 12 points. Amare Stoudemire ended with 14 points, but he fouled out.
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| LBJ and the Miami Heat march on after scorching the New York Knicks in Game 5. (image by Wilfredo Lee/AP) |
MEM over LAC, 92-80
The Memphis Grizzlies held on for a 92-80 win over the Clippers on Wednesday and managed to avoid elimination in Game 5 of this best-of-seven series. Memphis, which squandered a 27-point lead in a Game 1 loss, was up by as many as 24 on Wednesday before Los Angeles pulled within single digits late in the fourth quarter. The Grizzlies, though, closed the game on an 11-5 run to send the series back to Los Angeles for Game 6 on Friday. Marc Gasol had 23 points in the win, Zach Randolph added 19 and 10 rebounds and Rudy Gay finished with 14 points. The Clippers, who had won the previous two games of this series and were looking to advance to the second round for the first time since 2006, were led by Mo Williams' 20 points. Chris Paul scored 19, but re-aggravated a groin injury late in the game. Blake Griffin, who had 15 points and 11 rebounds, appeared to injure his left knee in the third quarter but remained in the contest.
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| Zach Randolph and the Grizzlies won at the Grindhouse to extend their series to a sixth game. (image by Mark Humphrey/AP) |
*Game recaps were compiled and compressed from Reuters, the Associated Press and the Sports Network.
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